Sunday, 6 September 2015

As Scandal Mounts, Largesse Keeps Malaysia’s PM in Power

Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak – a British-educated technocrat with a reputation for opulence – is at the center of an unprecedented scandal. A sovereign wealth fund established to develop lucrative industries and boost economic growth in Malaysia, the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), has incurred more than $11 billion in debts and is at the center of a political and financial controversy.

In July, an exposé in the Wall Street Journal published documents sourced from an ongoing government probe into 1MDB that traced nearly $700 million being channeled into Najib’s personal bank accounts from entities linked to the indebted fund. The fund paid inflated prices for assets and laundered money that Najib used to fund his campaign in the 2013 general elections, according to the source.

The allegations against the prime minister caused an uproar in Malaysia on both sides of the political divide. Najib denied wrong-doing and dismissed the report as political sabotage. In the days that followed, special task forces raided the offices of 1MDB and three linked companies, freezing bank accounts and seizing documents that could have paved the way for possible criminal charges against Najib and others.

ABOUT

Nile Bowie is a writer and journalist with Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He previously served as a columnist with the Malaysian Reserve newspaper and worked as a research assistant with the International Movement for a Just World, an NGO in Kuala Lumpur that promotes peace and interfaith dialogue. His writings have appeared in online publications including RT and Al Jazeera, and newspapers such as the International New York Times, the Global Times and the New Straits Times. He currently resides in Singapore and can be reached by email at nilebowie@gmail.com or on Twitter @nilebowie.